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May 15, 1956 L MARTlN ET AL ALL-WIRE COLLAPSIBLE NEWSPAPER RACK Filed July 28, 1952 United States Patent ALL-WIRE COLLAPSIBLE NEWSPAPER RACK Lewis C. Martin, Nashville, Tenn., George B. Molfett, Mobile, Ala., and Gilbert 0. Erickson, Nashville, Tenn.

' Applicationilnly 28, 1952, Serial No. 301,318

1 Claim. (Cl. 211-50) This invention relates to an all-wire collapsible newspaper rack. More particularly it relates to an all-wire collapsible newspaper rack having a collapsing pocket which is specially designed to firmly hold a bundle of newspapers but without pinching or tearing the last few papers held therein.

Collapsible newspaper racks of the prior art have had some or all of the following faults: They were expensive due to high labor costs and use of heavy costly materials, such as angle bars, sheet and strap metal, hinges, etc. They tended to be too frail if light in weight, or too heavy if of strong construction. And their pockets, if non collapsing, did not securely hold the papers; or if collapsing, tended to pinch and tear the last few papers. The disclosed invention overcomes all of these faults.

It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide a durable yet inexpensive fully collapsible newspaper rack made entirely of wire.

It is another object to provide a collapsible newspaper rack formed of relatively few pieces of wire, bent to form angular joints, looped to form bearings and sliding joints, and welded to form other connections.

It is a further object to produce a newspaper rack having a collapsible pocket which will firmly hold many or few papers but which will not pinch or tear the last of the papers to be removed therefrom.

These and other objects and advantages will become apparent as the following detailed description proceeds.

In the drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention and in which like reference characters refer to the same parts in the several views:

Fig. l is a perspective view of an all-wire rack according to this invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the pocket portion of the rack in its fully expanded paper-receiving position.

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the nearly full pocket, showing its firm holding action on the papers.

Pig. 4 is a side elevational view of the empty collapsed pocket.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detailed view of the bottom of the pocket, showing its non-pinching holding of a single newspaper.

With reference now to the drawings, the numeral 1 generally designates the front frame-member. Frame-member 1 is formed primarily by bending a single piece of relatively stiff wire 3 to form an inverted U having a bight portion 3a and leg portions 3b, and then crossing the two end portions 3c of the wire 3 to form an X within the U, as shown. Where the portions 3c cross they are preferably welded together for strength, and it is desirable that all crossing wires (except where relative motion is intended) should be similarly connected.

While the bight portion 3!: would suffice, it is preferable that an additional cross-wire 5 be welded to the legs 31) parallel to and slightly below the portion 3a to serve as the shaft by which the rear frame member 7 and the top element 9 of the paper-holding pocket are swivelly attached. Another horizontal cross-wire 11 braces the bottom of front frame 1 and also serves as the shaft for pivotally connecting bracing member 13 thereto.

The rear frame member 7, by which the front frame member is propped in its slightly rearwardly inclined useposition, comprises two heavy wires, each having a vertically inclined section 7a connected to the cross-wire 5 by an eye 71;, bent in its upper end. Wires 7 are then bent at 70 to form feet, and thence extend upwardly and inwardly, cross each other at 7d near the center of the rear frame member, and have their ends 7e welded to vertical portions 70 slightly below pivot eyes 7b thereof.

Rear frame member 7 folds flat against front frame member 1 in its non-use, storage or shipment position (as shown in phantom in Fig. 4), but swings about wireshaft 5 for about 30 to its open use-position (Figs. 14). In such position the frame members are firmly held by a brace member 13.

Brace 13 is a single wire, spanning the rear frame and wrapped around sections 70 thereof to provide slidable connections 13a therewith, and then connected at its ends to cross-wire 11 by loops 13b, as shown in Fig. l. Loops 13b are so formed and angled that they slide easily over upright bars 70 in the folding and opening actions, but bind as they are forced down into the bracing position of Fig. l.

The top bar 3a of frame 1 may, if desired, have welded thereto one or more loops 15 for attaching a sign thereto, or by which it may be supported from nails either in storage or in use, or be tied to a tree, etc.

The collapsible newspaper pocket is conveniently formed of four U-shaped wires 9, 21-23 and two straight wires 25 and 27. U-shaped wire 9 is swivelly attached by loops 9 to a cross-bar 5 and forms the rim or mouthof the pocket. The front of the pocket is formed by two coplanar oppositely oriented U-shaped wires 21 and 22, the latter of which is narrower but deeper than the former so as to extend slightly above and below the limits of vertical extent of the former. The wider U-element 21 is hung from the bight portion of U-element 9 by loops 21a. U-element 22 is welded to the bight portion of wire 21 where they cross. Wires 21 and 22 are also traversed by horizontal wire 25 welded thereto to form a stronger and less open front for the pocket.

The lower ends of the U-element 22 have loops which swivelly embrace the bight portion of the U-element 23, which forms the bottom of the pocket. The bottom U- element 23 has its leg portions bowed slightly downwardly, as an important feature of this invention. This construction (Fig. 5) prevents pinching the last paper or two, so as to tear (or cause removal thereof to tear) the papers, as would occur, if the curvature indicated by the bracket 23a (Fig. 5) was omitted. The rear ends of the arms of bottom-forming U-element 23 are swivelly connected to the cross wire 27, which in turn is welded at its ends to front frame-member 1.

While only one collapsible pocket has been shown, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be construed as being so limited, since two or more similar pockets can be employed by merely increasing the height of the frame members.

While we have disclosed a preferred illustrative embodiment of our invention, it is to be understood that many changes can be made in the size, shape, composition and arrangements of the parts without departing from the spirit of the invention defined by the subjoined claim.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

In a collapsing newspaper rack, a collapsing newspaper pocket comprising: an upright rear wall, a front wall swingable from a collapsed position against said rear Patented May 15, 1956 wall to an expanded position to receive and hold a bundle of newspapers, a pair of spaced side links swivelly connecting the top of said front Wall to said back wall, and bottom link means swivelly connecting the bottom of said frontwall to said rear wall, said links and means holding said walls approximately parallel during their expanding and collapsing relative movement, said bottom link means being bent away from said front Wall at at least the lower part of the substantially collapsed pocket, whereby pinch and tearing of the last one or few' papers is prevented.

UNITED STATES PATENTS Abrams Sept. 29, Raysik Nov. 24, OKane Mar. 29, Finkelstein July 13, Riordan et al. Feb. 24, Bargagni June 1, Davidson et al. July 2, Braun Jan. 9, Robinson et a1 July 14,

Rubenstein et al. Sept. ,9, 

